"UniCloud" extends HPC systems software into Amazon EC2's pay-per-use model

AUSTIN, Texas, Dec. 2 -- Univa UD, the leading alternative HPC systems management software company, today announced the availability of UniCloud, an extension to Univa UD systems software that ushers in a pay-per-use and Web service model for high performance computing users.

UniCloud enables organizations to provision and scale HPC capacity on the proven computing environment of Amazon Web Services, expanding baseline computing resources through the dynamic provisioning of capacity to meet peak demand. An extension to Univa UD's leading UniCluster and Grid MP products, UniCloud allows organizations to establish workload policies and requirements which dynamically trigger the setup of virtual compute nodes in Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud (Amazon EC2), the Web service that provides resizable compute capacity in the cloud. It is designed to make Web-scale computing easier for developers.

This flexible, on-demand approach to satisfying HPC needs greatly reduces up-front capital expense and lowers the barrier to HPC entry for non-savvy users.

Features include:

• Pay-per-use model built on top of Amazon EC2's simple Web service interface.
• Low-cost, unified monthly billing.
• Enhanced security and technical support from the experts and thought leaders in HPC.

"This is a major step forward for all users of HPC, from entry-level beginners to large-scale consumers," said Gary Tyreman, vice president and general manager, HPC division at Univa UD. "Our customers can now eliminate significant portions of HPC management complexity and cost by using UniCloud to dynamically provision capacity to meet peak demand."

"Amazon Web Services is excited Univa UD is integrating Amazon EC2 into their offering," said Steve Rabuchin, director of developer relations and business development for Amazon Web Services. "EC2 enables users to develop and deploy applications on a highly available, elastic environment for large scale computing. UniCloud will make it even easier for organizations to extend existing policies and workflows into the Amazon Web Services cloud only paying for capacity that they require."

"With UniCloud we're helping to forge the inevitable convergence of HPC computing with cloud and virtualization-focused usage models," said Jason Liu, Univa UD president and CEO. "Customers need to know that solutions like cloud will actually deliver real, measurable benefits -- they don't just want to go cloud for the sake of cloud. With UniCloud, we've proven the model and its benefits for HPC -- and will be doing the same work for our datacenter product line."

Univa UD recently published a how-to white paper addressing how to run UniCluster in Amazon EC2. The paper, along with a Q&A webinar with the author, is available for download at http://univaud.com/hpc/webinar20080917.php.

UniCloud is available immediately from Univa UD at introductory prices as low as $.10 per computing hour.

About Amazon EC2

Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud (Amazon EC2) is a Web service that provides resizable compute capacity in the cloud. It is designed to make Web-scale computing easier for developers.

About Univa UD

Univa UD is the leading provider of HPC systems management and datacenter automation software. Univa UD products simplify the complex nature of deploying and operating HPC and datacenter virtualization environments, saving customers time and resources while giving them confidence that their solution will perform as expected. Hundreds of market-leading companies come to Univa UD to build and operate their production infrastructures, from workgroup clusters to enterprise grids to dynamic datacenter application provisioning. With a focus on making business easier for our customers, Univa UD is advancing the vision and practice of HPC and datacenter virtualization. Visit the company at www.univaud.com.

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Source: Univa UD